Super Chevy Drag Racing Greats, Part 1

Roll up for a magical history tour of vintage Chevy strip pounders

Although I appreciate all makes of 1950s through 1970s American-built muscle cars, there's no denying that I came from a "Genuine Chevrolet family." If memory serves me correctly, I can trace our Bow Tie beginnings as far back as the 1946 Chevrolet Master Coupe my mother and father purchased when they were first married, right up to their last new car, ah, better make that "truck," an 1985 Suburban with a big-block.

Of course, having Selman Chevrolet's "OK Used Cars" (Orange, California) right around the corner certainly didn't hurt, nor did the fact that a place called "Hart Automotive" (founded by the late NHRA Competition Director Jack Hart,) was located directly across the street from Selman's Chapman Avenue used car lot, and it was always teeming with Chevrolet-powered hot rods.

My first trip to Lions Associated Drag Strip (1962) was filled with memories of Tri-Five Chevrolets, Corvette fuelies, and SS 409 bubbletops. However, by the mid-'60s, these cars began to give way to L79 Novas, L37/L34/L78-powered Chevelles, and L35/L78 Camaros, which all made pretty damned good race cars. Match race stockers were the up-and-coming thing in those days, and in spite of the fact that Chevrolet was officially out of racing, they certainly provided the raw material. Names like "Dyno Don" Nicholson, Hayden Proffitt, Tom Sturm, Dick Harrell, Randy Walls, Doug Thorley, "Jungle Jim" Liberman, Bill Thomas, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, Dave Strickler, Pete Seaton, Malcolm Durham, and countless others all helped make these cars immortal.

In closing part 1, all I can say is that any drag racing photographer who has ever groveled for, and successfully obtained, a national event starting line photo credential has his or her own file of drag racing photo greats stashed away. These are just a few of mine. And for extra good measure, Super Chevy has a few images for upcoming issues captured on film (remember when there was film?) by my fellow partners-in-crime "Diamond Jim" Kelly, Dan Wadley, and GK Callaway, listed in no particular order. After all, you can't be everywhere. Enjoy!

MORE PHOTOS

VIEW FULL GALLERY

xclose

Super Chevy Drag Racing Greats, Part 1

In a classic Ford vs. Chevrolet battle, Grumpy Jenkins and his small-block-engine “Grumpy’s Toy IX” battles it out against Hubert Platt’s Ford Pinto at the 1972 NHRA U.S. Nationals. Guess who won?

Funny Car and Pro Stock racer “Fast Eddie” Schartman began his door-slammer racing career behind the wheel of this Jackshaw Chevrolet–sponsored (Cleveland, Ohio) 1963 409 Impala Super Stock car, that was match-raced throughout the southeastern United States with reasonable success. Schartman’s exploits would catch the attention of none other than soon-to-be “Team Mercury” racer “Dyno Don” Nicholson. Eddie contracted to drive Don’s ’62 409, and the rest as they say is drag-racing history! Photo courtesy of “Fast Eddie” Schartman.

Tulare, California, racing legend Larry “Butch” Leal, aka the “California Flash,” stepped away from the wheel of Mickey Thompson’s 1970 Boss 429 Mustang Pro Stocker to campaign this 1970-1/2 Pro Stock Camaro. However, just as Butch was just getting all the bugs ironed out, Chrysler Racing’s Bob Cahill came along with an offer that was just too good to refuse, and the rest is drag-racing history.

When it comes to the winningest stock-bodied Chevrolets in drag racing, Bill Jenkins’ “Grumpy’s Toys” led the way. Jenkins is shown in these two photos winning class at the 1969 NHRA Winternationals with his “Grumpy’s Toy III,” a 375hp 1968 Camaro SS396 running in SS/C.

This car also won class at both the NHRA Springnationls, U.S. Nationals, and was (also) extensively match-raced running an L88 big-block. Jenkins’ Camaro also competed in A/MP and was runner-up at the 1968 NHRA World Finals with Ed Hedrick driving.

However, “Grumpy’s Toy IV,” a similar looking 1968 Camaro SS has got to be the number one winning stock-bodied Camaro of all time. Equipped with a number of different engines over its lifetime, including but not solely restricted to, a 396-cid L78 big-block, a 427-cid L88 big-block, and a tunnel-ram Reynolds Aluminum/Chaparral big-block (cid varied). Grumpy’s Toy IV won A/MP at Indy ’68 with Dave Strickler driving. The car was match-raced as well, competed on the United States Drag Racing Team circuit (the forerunner of NHRA/AHRA/IHRA Pro Stock), and won B/Gas at Indy in ’69...

...However, its most significant wins would come at the 1970 NHRA Winternationals, where the Grump defeated Ronnie Sox in the first-ever NHRA Pro Stock final, then won the Orange County Pro Stock Championships a week later defeating “Dyno Don” Nicholson. From there, he went on to defeat Ronnie Sox (again) at the 1970 NHRA Gatornationals, earning a cool $20,000 in two weeks time and a total of $150,000-plus throughout the ’68’s storied career.

After driving Hubert Platt’s 1964 Ford Falcon match racer one foggy Saturday evening at Lions Associated Drag Strip (Platt had been injured in a pit accident), header impresario Doug Thorley built his “Chevy II Much” match racer. Originally intended to run as a small-block B/Gas car, Thorley was able to obtain one of the first 396 big-block engines west of the Mississippi, and together with mechanic Gary Slusser built one of the country’s first “independent” GM match-race stockers. As Doug would later comment, “That car would flat leap off the starting line and lay patches of rubber in every gear.” Photo by “Diamond” Jim Kelly and courtesy of Match Race Madness.

After campaigning a series of Tri-Five Chevrolets and 409s up and down the eastern seaboard, the late Malcolm Durham, aka “The DC Lip,” went match-racing in 1964. “Our Chevelle was basically a GM version of the 427 Ford Thunderbolts,” said Durham. By 1965 however, Malcolm’s “Strip Blazer IV” sported a radically altered wheelbase, a nitro big-block, and fuel injectors. The Chevelle routinely ran low 10s at 140-plus mph and was the GM car to beat at dragstrips located all around the Capitol Beltway outside Durham’s home base of Washington D.C. Photo courtesy the Malcolm Durham estate.

The late great Dick Harrell was known from coast to coast for his wheel-standing Chevrolets. In 1965-’66, Harrell teamed up with West Coast Nickey Chevrolet and Bow Tie guru and “Cheetah” creator Bill Thomas (Bill Thomas Race Cars Inc.) on a pair of match-race Novas, which flat tore up the track, predictably running in the low 9-second range and usually on the back bumper. This is Dick’s ’66 at Lions.

Randy Walls’ wild and wooly 1965 Chevrolet “Super Nova” was a homebuilt effort powered by a blown, nitro-burning Chevrolet Rat motor and was notorious for its awesome starting-line launches. Walls would go on to campaign a number of pure Chevrolet-powered Nova Funny Cars under the name Super Nova, and he competes to this day in the NHRA and Goodguys Nostalgia Funny Car class at events like the California Hot Rod Reunion. In fact, Randy won the first Nostalgia Funny Car Eliminator at CHRR.

Talk about fiery performances, “Jet Car Gary” Gabelich is seen boiling the hides on the Beach City Chevrolet–sponsored (Huntington Beach) Corvette AA/FC roadster at Orange County International Raceway in the summer of 1969. Actually, there were a number of Beach City Corvette roadsters built and driven by the likes of Gabelich, Ron Goodsell, and Pat Foster, as the attrition rate caused by the cars’ exploding nitro-burning big-block Chevrolet engines proved a bit costly.

Midwesterner Wally Booth burst onto the national scene driving a Chevelle SS 396. Booth quickly advanced through the ranks to field this Diamond Racing Engines–powered 1968 Camaro in NHRA Pro Stock with partner Gordy Foust. His next car, a ’68 Camaro reworked to be a legal ’69 Camaro, was runner-up to Ronnie Sox at the 1970 NHRA Springnationls. Wally next built a ’70 Camaro before accepting a factory Pro Stock ride with American Motors Corporation.

All throughout the 1960s, Anaheim, California’s Bill Thomas Race Cars was unofficially the “back door” for Chevrolet’s West Coast racing operations...

...This 1968 Camaro SS396 was campaigned by BTRC Shop Foreman Jim Baker and Parts Manager Ron Ogilvie in NHRA Division 7 Super Stock (SS/EA) and set a number of track records. During its short two-year career, the “Diamond Gem” ran a best of 11.80-122.00. I once took a ride in this car at OCIR.

In 1964, former 409 Super Stock racers Tom Sturm (Sturm and Jacobsen) built a 396-cid big-block 1965 Chevelle known as “Just 4 Chevy Lovers!” Sponsored by Ansen Automotive, the yellow Chevelle was the scourge of the match-race class at Lions Associated Drag Strip, running low 9s at 140-plus, and did much to help develop GM’s 396-cid “Semi Hemi” as an all-out race engine. Sturm would follow with a couple of blown big-block Corvairs and Camaros, but none was as successful as his first effort.

Header builder Doug Thorley set the bar for fuel Funny Cars in 1967 with the introduction of his Exhibition Engineering–chassis, Gary Slusser--maintained, big-block Chevrolet-engined “Doug’s Headers Corvair.” This car was absolutely awesome and is unofficially listed as being the first Funny Car in drag racing history to break the 200-mph mark (201.00) at Lions Associated Drag Strip. Dismissed as “popcorn times” by East Coast FC racers, Thorley took the car on tour and Doug soundly trounced all comers at the 1967 US Nationals, including the factory Comets (Doug is shown here besting “Dyno Don” Nicholson’s “Eliminator II” Comet during a match race at Carlsbad Raceway), ultimately defeating cam grinder Joe Lunati and his Camaro on the final, recording a 7.64-192.00. Thorley’s efforts would also net him the Car Craft Magazine–sponsored All Star Drag Racing Team “Funny Car Driver of the Year” honors for 1967. Say what you want about Corvairs, this was one hell of a car!

The late Steve Bovan (Blair’s Speed Shop, Pasadena, California) traded his 1964 Max Wedge Plymouth for this nitro-burning 396 porcupine engine Chevy II, sponsored by Indy 500 Hall of Famer Sam Hanks. Primarily match-raced on the West Coast and regarded as one of the killer cars at Irwindale Raceway (shown here), the Nova typified independent, non-factory-sponsored GM cars of its era. It routinely ran high 8s at 150 mph and change.

In 1966, former AA/Sports champion Bruce Larsen traded in his 289 Cobra Dragonsnake (Costilow & Larsen) for this all-fiberglass 1966 Chevelle match-race stocker, which he named “USA-1” (at the time this was one of Chevrolet’s advertising slogans). Sponsored by Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Sutliff Chevrolet, USA-1 set an NHRA B/XS record of 8.85 at 159.00 mph and would win (shown) the 2,600-pound FC class at the 1966 U.S. Fuel & Gas Championships, Bakersfield, California. This car has since been restored. In fact, it was one of the first—if not the first—vintage Funny Car restorations on record.

Dickie Harrell is shown racing against the Larry Reyes–driven “Super Cuda” at Orange County International Raceway’s 2nd annual Manufacturer’s Funny Car Team Championships. This was Harrell’s first all-tube-chassis (Don Hardy Race Cars) car, and it was powered by a Ray Sullins–maintained big-block.

The ever popular “Jungle Jim” Liberman is shown doing what he does best at Carlsbad Raceway with his Logghe-chassis, combination steel- and fiberglass-bodied, pure Chevrolet-powered 1967 Chevy Nova racecar. Lifting the flip-top body was a two-man job, and note that the car has an opening door. This would be the last time you would see that on a Chevy II FC bearing the “Jungle Jim” moniker. Quite typically, Jungle’s Nova would run 7.60s and in the high 190s.

That’s none other than a beardless Bob McClurg way back in 1969 while employed as the photo editor at Super Stock & Drag Illustrated magazine. The place was Capitol Raceway, and the event was the “Mr. Chevrolet Meet.” Photo by “Diamond Jim” Kelly.

Due to his overwhelming popularity, “Jungle Jim” Liberman became one of the first owner/drivers to field a two-car team bearing his name (1969). Shown is former “Lime Fire” Barracuda driver “Jungle Clare” Sanders driving the West Coast car at MD’s Aquasco Raceway, although in reality, both cars could be found racing at many of the same events. Jungle’s Logghe-chassis, candy blue Chevy IIs were the last “Pure Chevrolet”–powered cars J.J. would campaign prior to switching over to Chrysler power. Of particular interest is the fact that it was Clare Sanders and not Liberman who won the first official NHRA Funny Car Eliminator title at the 1969 NHRA Winternationals, defeating Ray Alley’s Plymouth Barracuda in the final, causing mixed emotions in the Liberman camp. Both Jungle Jim cars routinely ran 7.30s at 200 mph.

Grumpy’s Toy VIII, an 1970-1⁄2 big-block Pro Stock Camaro wasn’t very successful in “NHRA Legal” trim, running a best of 9.35 seconds. But, with the installation of one of Bill’s 494-cid “Mountain Motors” and a few other lightweight components, the car ran in the 9.20s, recording a best of 9.25 seconds.

While SRD Race Cars was building the Grump a new small-block Chevrolet Vega to compete in NHRA Pro Stock, Dauphine, Pennsylvania, Chevy star Bruce “USA-1” Larsen “leased” Grumpy’s Toy VIII in early 1972 in order to obtain hands-on experience racing Pro Stocks. Painted in Larsen’s “USA-1” red, white, and blue livery, the renamed Camaro ran a Jenkins-built 427 big-block; this photo shows Bruce racing the late “Dandy Dick” Landy and his Dodge Hemi Challenger at a Wednesday night Pro Stock race at Orange County International Raceway. This same car went on to win a world championship, redone as a B/Econo Altered with Dennis Ferrara behind the wheel.

In the late 1960s, Malcolm Durham abandoned his heavy Chevelle and substituted this Super Car Engineering–built (the name of Durham’s shop), injected, Chevrolet-powered Corvair in its place. Initially built on the (near) stock Corvair wheelbase (95 in.), the car proved a squirrely handling beast. Malcolm stretched the wheelbase an additional 12 inches to rectify the problem. Performances in the low 8s were commonplace. Photo by “Diamond Jim” Kelly/Match Race Madness.

I distinctively remember a number of other Chevrolet-powered non-Chevrolets, including these two vintage gassers. Dan Broguire’s “Impossible Dream” (which proved impossible to keep on the ground), a 1951 Austin, was powered by a tunnel-ram Chevrolet big-block. Ed Smith’s “Cheers to Ya Ducks” 1949 Anglia C/A also proved a bit tipsy and was powered by an injected small-block Chevrolet.

With 96 career victories and a number of NHRA Pro Stock championships, Warren “The Professor” Johnson cut his teeth driving in AHRA Pro Stock. By the mid 1970s, Warren had switched to NHRA national events, where the real money was. The rest is history. Johnson’s experiences with the DRC Oldsmobile big-block engineering program are renowned, but he was also one of the earliest experimenters using the big-block Chevrolet, first in a Vega and then in this swoopy second-gen Camaro.

And the winnah in the “Powered by Chevrolet in the Non Chevrolet Body category” is Rich Guasco’s “Pure Hell AA/FA” driven by Dale “Snail” Emery. From 1964 to 1970, the Pleasanton, California–based Pure Hell toured the West Coast, winning AA/HR at prestigious events like the Hot Rod Magazine Drag Racing Championships at Riverside, California. The team would occasionally go on tour, visiting places like the U.S. Nationals, where Pure Hell clocked a scorching 7.69 at 207.36 mph. Although the Tony Del Rio–painted Austin Bantam ran both a small-block Chevrolet and later an early Chrysler Hemi, it is best remembered for its “Chevrolet days.”

Don “Wonder Bread” Schumacher topped them all with his John Buttera–built “lowrider” Vega, which included venting the front grille and hood, laying back the roofline, and other ground effects. Unfortunately, its semi-reclined driver’s position made it somewhat difficult to drive.

Funny Car racers were right on top of the introduction of the Chevrolet Vega. GM’s little subcompact hatchback made a great Funny Car body, and Dick Harrell and Larry Christopherson are credited as having built the first example, shown slightly crossed up and sideways at Lions Grand Premiere.

“Superman Jim” Nicoll’s Speed Equipment World Vega proved quite dramatic with this flame show at OCIR. They called him “Superman” for good reason. After surviving one of the worst front engine Top Fuel clutch explosions in drag racing history at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 1969, Jim Nicoll went Funny Car racing with this Speed Equipment World–sponsored, Ed Pink late-model hemi-powered, John Buttera–chassis Vega around 1972.

In a classic Ford vs. Chevrolet battle, Grumpy Jenkins and his small-block-engine “Grumpy’s Toy IX” battles it out against Hubert Platt’s Ford Pinto at the 1972 NHRA U.S. Nationals. Guess who won?

Check out this 1972 Chevrolet Nova that has a 454ci engine, a Sharioff 582, and a Powerglide transmission. Read more only at www.chevyhiperformance.com, the official website for Chevy High Performance Magazine! » Read More